


The Paladin Bride

by VeppyVee



Category: The Princess Bride - William Goldman, Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender, vld - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gay, Humor, Laith, M/M, Swordfighting, The Princess Bride AU, The Princess Bride References, True Love, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-04-27 17:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14430876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeppyVee/pseuds/VeppyVee
Summary: In this thrilling tale of action and adventure our beloved Princess, Allura, has come down with a nasty case of a Space Cold™️  (probably due to overworking herself... There is a war going on after all ) and is resting in bed during a moment of ceasefire. Alas, now bedridden, our poor princess.... is bored as hell. While the paladins are away defending the universe without her, Coran decides to read her his favorite book: The Paladin Bride.Enjoy the silly revision of a classic love story inspired by an artwork by Joker-Ace on tumblr.Link: http://joker-ace.tumblr.com/post/150925877564/a-while-back-on-twitter-i-thought-about-a-princess





	The Paladin Bride

“Are you sure you’ll be alright without me? I’m more than capable of-” Allura’s persistent frets were cut short by yet another bout of violent coughing. She cleared her throat, reached over to her nightstand, and pressed a water glass to her lips. She turned her head away when she felt Shiro’s deadpan burn into her skin, “P-Pretend that didn’t happen...”

“But it did, Princess,” the Black Paladin sighed, crossing his arms and putting his weight onto one hip, “I’m sorry Allura, but you’re far too sick to go on this assignment with us...”

Allura nearly whined, “Shiro, it’s just a silly little cold; Once my fever goes down I’ll be good as new!”

“Right, but until then your main priority is to stay here and rest” Shiro’s tone was cool, as if he’d had a conversation like this before. Which he probably had, considering he used to babysit Keith back on Earth; And Keith could be just as stubborn as Allura.

The Altean princess sighed and leaned back against her pillows. She crossed her arms, puffed out her bottom lip, and knit her eyebrows together. It was unbecoming of a princess to pout, but at this moment she couldn’t care less. She watched Shiro sigh and loll his head to the side in both amusement and exhaustion.

“I am sorry Allura, but this is for the best. The faster you get better the more at ease the rest of us will feel,” Then a smile grew across the Black Paladin’s lips, “Lance will be a lot more focused knowing your safe, at least.”

Allura couldn’t help but smile back. She sighed, waving her hand dismissively, “Alright, Alright, fine. But if anything— _anything_ happens, you let me know immediately, okay?”

Shiro nodded, “Of course, Princess. Coran will be in and out to check up on you, so if _you_ need anything, you let him know, immediately.”

Allura huffed and stifled the cough that that brought on. Shiro smiled softly at her then turned towards the door. He glanced over his shoulder with a last, “See you soon, Princess” and then he was gone, out to save the universe yet again... This time without her.

Time passed slowly for our poor bed-ridden princess. She tossed and turned under her covers, kicking them off when she grew too hot and pulling them back up when she was too cold. She gossiped with the mice when she felt lonely and went over battle strategies in her mind when she grew anxious. Every now and then she’d wonder what her Paladins were up to...

Shiro was probably acting stoic as always. He would give all the correct orders and watch over the other Paladins as they did their jobs, helping wherever he was needed. He and Hunk would most likely be the ones to address the natives. Allura smiled. She could see Hunk with his teddy-bear grin and hear him gently guide the concerned civilians to safer areas, letting them know everything would be alright.

Lance was probably flirting with the local female population, using his Voltron-Paladin status to woo all the pretty girls. She can see a grumpy Keith behind him, pretending not to care and looking around for any hostile creatures or Galran sentries.

Matt and Pidge were _definitely_ sneaking off to talk to the planet’s scientists and explore all the interesting tech the culture had to offer. Allura wondered what kind of culture they were seeing right now; was the technology advanced in mechanics like it was on Earth? Did they have a strong military artillery like the Galra? Or maybe they relied more on spirit and magic like they did in Altea? Allura snorted; maybe they were primitive and still using rocks and sticks. Pidge and Matt would be sooo disappointed.

Allura sighed. Thinking about her dear friends exploring the universe without her made her feel lonely again. She glanced over to her nightstand: The mice were entertaining themselves by happily chasing each other’s tails and running on their little exercise wheel Hunk had built for them. Allura found her eyelids slowly growing heavier as she watched the mice run around and round, and it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The princess woke with a start as her mechanical doors slid open.

“Princess?” Came a familiar voice as Coran stepped into the room. Allura sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. When the blurriness began to fade she noticed her beloved goofy retainer approach her bedside, holding a silver tray in his hands and a book under his arm. He made some room on her nightstand and placed the tray down, the platter littered with two more water boxes, some medicine, and a large bowl of bright green food goo. He then pulled a small stool out from the closet and sat at Allura’s bedside, the book in his lap.

“How are you feeling? I wasn’t disturbing you, was I?” Coran asked gently. 

“No, no, I was just taking a light nap…” Allura yawned her response. She turned her glossy blue eyes to the shiny tray and smiled, “Thank you, I was getting a little peckish.”

“Of course, Princess; it’s my duty to take care of you, after all.” Coran winked. Allura’s eyes fell to the book in his lap.

“And what’s this then?” She quarried. 

“Why I’m glad you asked!” Coran leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs. He let a big toothy smile decorate his cheeks and he lifted his eyebrows proudly, “This here, my dear Allura, is a book given to me by my father a long, long time ago.” Coran brought two fingers to his face and twisted his bright orange mustache.

“ _Your_  father?” Allura giggled, “It must be good then!”

Coran held up the book in his hands and opened the cover, “Oh, it’s only the best romance novel ever written,” He purred in a matter-o-fact tone, “There’s Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, True Love, miracles...”

“Well!” Allura cut him off, “That sounds like  _quite_  the story!” she rested her chin in her palm and leaned against it, eyeing her silly space uncle with amusement. 

“Oh, it is,” Coran was ignoring her sarcasm, “You see, _my_ father was given this book by  _your_  grandfather. Good o’l dad read this book to me whenever I was sick, and so now I’m going to read it to you.” Coran said the last bit with an air of finality. Allura smiled.

“I’ll try my best to stay awake” she chided playfully. She noticed the fake-glare in Coran’s eye and made herself comfortable. The mice ran down to the mattress and crawled up Allura’s chest and shoulders, cuddling up with her for the story. Allura giggled as their whiskers tickled her neck. 

Coran cleared his throat and turned to the first page. 

“Let’s begin, shall we...?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Keith was raised on a small farm in the country of Montgomery. He was a fiery young man who was known to cut others with his tongue as one would cut a slab of meat with a knife. But despite his temper, Keith was by far the most beautiful person one could ever hope to see. His favorite pastimes were riding his horse, practicing his swordplay, and tormenting the farm boy that worked there. His name was Lance, but Keith never called him that.

_“Isn’t that a wonderful beginning, Allura?”_

_“Yes Coran, it’s beautiful.”_

Nothing gave Keith more pleasure than ordering Lance around. When Lance was first hired, he had assumed Keith to be a second farmhand and toyed and teased him mercilessly. He constantly questioned Keith’s skills in both tending to the plantations and animals, as well as his skills with a blade. Lance even went so far as to call Keith his _rival_. Keith, amused by Lance’s stand-offish demeanor, accepted his challenge and went along with the charade for three days before Lance finally learnt the truth.

The two were engaged in an intense fencing match when Keith knocked the sword right out of Lance’s hand. He held the blade to Lance’s neck and Lance was able to see the engraving on the side of the steel: “Kogane”, the name of the landlord. Keith was his son.

 Oh God, the look on Lance’s face was _everything_ to Keith. So, to keep seeing that perfect face, Keith made sure to give Lance the most annoying and mundane jobs he could think of. Keith would have Lance do tasks such as fetching water from the farthest stream to milking their cow, Kaltinecker. This cat-and-mouse game would go on to become a routine for the two boys as the days went by.

“Farm boy,” Keith would chide gleefully before giving lance a task, “Polish my horse’s saddle. I want to see my face shining in it by morning”. 

Now, in the beginning Lance was royally annoyed by Keith’s constant revenge-tasks. The mere sight of Keith’s stupidly pretty mullet and his gorgeous indigo gaze made bile rise in the back of Lance’s throat. Lance just _hated_ Keith’s distractingly-fit physic and his pink pouty lips. It drove poor Lance insane! But eventually, and very slowly, things began to change. Their back-and-forth eventually became a game to Lance, and… he started to look forward to seeing Keith in the morning.

“…As you wish” Was all Lace would ever say to Keith.

As time went on, Keith started to notice little things about Lance. He noticed Lance would occasionally slip into an accent when he spoke; was it Spanish? He also noticed Lance would sing when he thought nobody was listening, and that his singing was actually _really good_. Keith also noticed just how handsome Lance was. Lance was just as handsome as Keith was beautiful, and what’s worse is that he was humble about it. Lance acted as if he didn’t know how his blue eyes sparkled in the sun, and how beautifully they contrasted against his tanned skin. It was infuriating.

“Farm boy,” Keith said, dropping two buckets at Lance’s feet, “Fill these with water for me,” Keith Paused. Lance was looking directly into his eyes. They _burned_. Keith swallowed, “...Please”

“As you wish” Lance responded. He leaned down before Keith and picked up the buckets, and when he rose back to his full height he met Keith’s eyes one more time. Lance smiled. Keith turned and started walking back towards the house. He stopped again and looked back at his farm boy, who was still watching him. After a long, quiet moment, Lance broke their eye contact and started heading towards the stream. Keith couldn’t look away.

That was they day Keith realized that when Lance said, “As you wish,” what he was really meant was, “I love you”.

And what was even more amazing was the day Keith realized he truly loved Lance back.

Keith was in the kitchen preparing for dinner when Lance walked in. He was paying no mind to Keith, and he couldn’t have that at all.

“Farm Boy!” Keith had called a bit too eagerly. He cleared his throat and gestured to the pitcher hanging above his head, “Fetch me that pitcher”.

Slowly, oh so horribly slowly, Lance sauntered over to Keith. Without breaking eye-contact, Lance reached up over Keith’s head and took the pitcher Keith could have easily grabbed himself. He could smell Lance’s cologne. Lance held the pitcher in both his hands and leaned into Keith’s ear.

“As you wish” He whispered. The pitcher now in Keith’s hands, Lance turned and left the kitchen. Keith was in shambles. Lance sang a little sweeter that night.

That seemed to be the first of many final straws between the two. It wasn’t long before Lance was sneaking into Keith’s room at night, and Keith foregoing giving Lance any tasks other than, “Chat with me today”. The two were _inseparable_. Lance and Keith would sneak off at dusk to watch the sun set over the horizon and hold each other as the moon took its place. They would eat their meals together and talk about their pasts and their futures. Lance would sing and lull Keith to sleep when he felt anxious, and Keith would hold Lance in his arms and kiss him when Lance felt insecure. Never had two people been more in love in the entire universe.

_“Coran”_

_“Yes, Princess?”_

_“I enjoy a cheesy love-story as much as the next girl, but… when are things going to get more… Exciting?”_

_“Now, Now, hold Princess on I’m getting there”_

Lance had no money for marriage. He had packed up his few belongings and was set to sail out across the seas to find a fortune for his and Keith’s future together. Keith had insisted the two travel together-Keith _was_ the better sword fighter-but Lance insisted he stay to tend to the farm. The sunrise Lance was to leave the farm was one of the worst days of Keith’s life. Keith clung to his lover in a tight embrace and hid his face into Lance’s shoulder.

“What if I never see you again?” Keith choked, trying desperately not to cry in front of Lance.

It was a very emotional time for the two boys. Lance hugged Keith back as tight as he could, “Of course you will” He retorted.

“But what if something happens to you?!”

Lance pulled back. He held Keith by his shoulders and looked deep into Keith’s watery indigo eyes, “Here this now:” Lance began, “I _will_ come for you”

“But how can you be sure?!” Keith was gnawing at his own lip. Lance smiled that signature, soft and suave smile that stole Keith’s heart in the first place and cupped his cheek.

“This is true love. You think this happens every day?”

Keith finally cracked a smile at Lance’s words. He wrapped his arms around Lance once more and pulled him in for a deep, passionate kiss. Lance would remember everything about the way Keith kissed; He would remember how soft his true love’s lips felt against his own, how they trembled slightly when Lance pulled him closer, and how sweet they tasted when Keith ran his hands through Lance’s hair. Lance loved everything about the way Keith kissed. Lance loved everything about Keith in general. Keith watched Lance’s back disappear over the horizon the two loved so much.

Lance never made it to his destination.

_“Wait What?”_

His ship was attacked by the Dread Pirate Shirogane, who never left captives alive.

_“Excuse me???”_

When Keith got the news that Lance was murdered-

_“HE WAS MURDERED BY PIRATES?!?!?!”_

_“Allura please! Let me finish!”_

_“…. Sorry…”_

When Keith got the news that Lance was dead, he went into his room and shut the door. For days he neither slept nor ate, and the only words he ever spoke were a promise:

“I will never love again”.

**Author's Note:**

> IT BEGINS....  
> Yeah this was just a reeeeaaaally short drabble... But I hope you liked it anyway!!!  
> Anyway, get ready for that fresh young romance you loved in The Princes's Bride but now Klance.  
> Thanks for reading!!!
> 
> Link to Joker-Ace's art: http://joker-ace.tumblr.com/post/150925877564/a-while-back-on-twitter-i-thought-about-a-princess


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